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This episode was insane. I mean it was Wrath vs a tank and he won without question . It really does show how terrifying you are when a tank is running in full reverse away from you. No wonder the Central soldiers got their spirits revived. Seeing someone do that will make you believe anything can be done. Just reminds me why Wrath always scared me the most out of any of the homunculi. The guy just seems unstoppable.

Buccaneer should be awarded a Lazarus medal...I was pretty sure he died 2-3 times in that fight, and he still had the power for yet another strike 0_0 Battling the powerhouse that is Wrath and living after all that interference is worthy of praise indeed!
Old man's arrival at the end was pretty cool too, suffice to say the bout with Greed was awesome, but next ep's title sounds ominous for the young prince...gotta wonder what's gonna happen next!
If I could hand out a 9.5, I'd do that, but since the episode isn't exactly perfect, I'll vote for 9.

One thing that's also awesome: If you pay attention, Bradley dodges every flying shard of glass from the window the tank flies through. And he also maneuvers his sword so that it dodges every piece of glass, too. Basically, he runs through the debris without letting him or anything on him be touched by the debris.

Also, when bradley starts running up the ramp after the tank, and the camera pans back to show the dozen or so dead soldiers behind him, it's such an awesome shot. Bradley leaves death and destruction everywhere in his path XD

Bones is truly doing a super job with the episodes as we get closer and closer to the end.

In this episode some of the scenes were extended and some scenes were changed a little bit from the manga but the end result proved that their decision to add and alter those scenes was the right one. However, there was a one specific line that I will mention later in this review that I was really looking forward to, so it did make me sad that it wasn’t translated exactly as in the manga.

We start this episode with a flashback of Hohenheim a couple of weeks after the incident in which the little one inside the flask turned into Father by taking the lives and the souls of half the citizens of Xerxes. Why did I say a couple of weeks? Well…if you look at the map below, the little dot between Amestris and Xing is supposed to be Xerxes. So I think it must have taken a few weeks for Hohenheim to reach Xing.

Watching that scene reminded me of when Mei-chan mentioned a man with golden hair and golden eyes as being the responsible of bringing alchemy into Xing. I find it interesting how while one man fled to the East (Hohenheim), the other one went to the West (Father). Both of them brought alchemy to those countries, Hohenheim to Xing and Father to Amestris, but they both did it in a very different way. I find it interesting especially because it kind of reminds me of how two people can have the same resources, the same opportunities, have the same everything but they can react and deal with situations in a very different way.

Once the flashback was over, we returned to the present and continued with Father and Hohenheim’s reunion. It was then we learned not only that there are 536.329 souls inside Hohenheim but that he has actually talked with each one of those souls! As Hohenheim himself said it, it wasn’t easy but he had the time to do it thanks to the immortal body Father gave him. Last episode we saw how Father got rid of his emotions because he saw them as unnecessary, and in this episode we see Father seeing building friendships and relationships as unnecessary as well. That’s why he never took any interest in getting to know all the souls living inside of him; he only saw them as energy, no as souls that once belonged to people. On the other hand, Hohenheim saw emotions and building friendships and relationships as something useful and important and that’s why he worked hard and spent all that time trying to get to know each one of the souls that are part of him.

The scene of the souls that were fused into Father’s body trying to destroy his “container” was great and so much better than in the manga. I was able to really feel the rage of those souls by watching them trying to get their revenge on Father during those scenes. Too bad that wasn’t enough, a very good try, but not enough, since Father has also evolved and now is able to live without the need of a container. Maybe it was because it was too gruesome, but I do think the scene of Father eating his body/husk was better in the manga. Why? I just think it did a better job portraying just how vile Father truly is.

“There’s no reason for me to take the back door, when it’s my house you’re trespassing on.” This is the line I was referring to at the beginning of this review. In the manga that line is translated as “What need is there for a king to enter his own castle through the back door?” I know both lines express the same idea, but I really think the one from the manga is cooler and it sounds more like something Wrath would actually say, but that is just my humble opinion of course. Either way, Bradley loses no time in showing us why there was no need for him to enter through the back door since he alone managed to kill all of the soldiers who were guarding the front gate plus a tank. Bradley’s wrath is something to be feared no doubts about that!!

Seeing Bradley pwing Buccaneer so easily was painful to watch, the difference in power was obvious. However, major props should be given to Buccaneer for don’t give up and keep trying to fight Bradley with all that he had and especially for sacrificing his own body so that Bradley could not use his sword anymore.

One of my favorite scenes in the manga and of course one of my favs in this episode was the scene between Bradley and Falman. “I’m sorry Colonel Mustang…” I remember when I read that scene in the manga I immediately thought, “Oh no, Falman is definitely going to open the door and let Bradley in.” However I was pleasantly surprised to find out just how wrong I had been.

“I’m sorry Colonel Mustang…I might lose my life here”. Falman was absolutely awesome during that scene. He was scared out of his mind but he didn’t chicken out instead he stood up to Bradley and protected the gate.

“Yo man. Don’t be looking so pathetic now when what you’re doing is awesome” (Anime)/ “Oh come on. Don’t cry like a girl when you act like a man. Besides no one around here is manlier than me.” (Manga) Buccaneer’s reply is just priceless!!

Greed/Ling!!!! What an amazing entrance. I know his appearance in this episode was spoiled by last episode’s preview but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Greed/Ling vs. Wrath was absolutely incredible!! Wrath is such a scary opponent, his sword skills + his Ultimate eye make him a terrifying adversary.

We also got to see how Bradley had survived the train accident in this episode. It was all thanks to his eyes, thanks to his “Ultimate Eye” to be precisely.

Blaming it all on Olivia and her soldiers wasn’t the fairest thing to do but I guess in those kinds of situations you just go with what is the smartest thing to do to achieve your objective rather than go with the fairest one…

Fu!!! What a fantastic way to end this episode. A great and cool surprise!! The moment “Xing Symphony ~Overture~”
started to play I knew someone from Xing was going to appear. For a moment I thought it was going to be Lan Fan, but then Fu came flying and fighting Bradley head-on. It was also cool to see him shaking with rage after realizing the man in front of him was the very one who cost his granddaughter her arm.

Another great episode, I enjoyed watching it very much and I’m glad that Bones is working hard to say farewell to FMA in the way it deserves.

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Thank you so much for my cute avy GenjiChan and for my awesome sig, Reverzer0!

Thoughts on this? I know 5 and 6 sound really low, but considering the power levels of these characters, 5 basically means godlike with a gun. It's just that in FMA, being godlike with a gun like Riza doesn't get you far with the homunculi (or most other major players).

Each character is just so different, that you'd probably have to evaluate each character based on what his or her field is. You have pure fighters such as Ran Fan and Fu who could probably run circles around Ed and Al, but bring alchemy into the mix and the outcome might turn out differently. Another example: Roy and his flame alchemy would most likely give Ed a lot of trouble (not to metion that he can pretty much take on homunculli such as Greed and Lust on his own), but if but if Ed manages to bring that fight in close quarters, I don't see Roy coming out on top.

I think your setup is too general. I guess, in the end, it's really depends a lot on circumstances. It's not like a fighting game where you can base the tiers on which charater is the 'best' based on ease of use, move priorities and combo lists.

Ah, that. Yeah, I think it was anime only to make it seem more powerful. I was actually thinking that myself, since I didn't recall Fuu being shot at when he arrived.

Honestly, if the entire point of giving it a roof was to allow for Bradley's "ride the explosion and stab the driver in the head" maneuver, it was completely worth it. Easily the "Holy shit!" moment of an episode full of them... Funniest moment is Bradley cutting the shell in half and it taking out about three guys behind him. I LOL every time I see that...

Each character is just so different, that you'd probably have to evaluate each character based on what his or her field is. You have pure fighters such as Ran Fan and Fu who could probably run circles around Ed and Al, but bring alchemy into the mix and the outcome might turn out differently. Another example: Roy and his flame alchemy would most likely give Ed a lot of trouble (not to metion that he can pretty much take on homunculli such as Greed and Lust on his own), but if but if Ed manages to bring that fight in close quarters, I don't see Roy coming out on top.

I think your setup is too general. I guess, in the end, it's really depends a lot on circumstances. It's not like a fighting game where you can base the tiers on which charater is the 'best' based on ease of use, move priorities and combo lists.

I see what you mean since I'm a big fan of fighting games. But without any PIS, I reckon some characters are categorically more dangerous than others: for example, with the exception of Pride, the specific human-homunculi union of Wrath is easily better than all the other sins. Personally, I'm convinced of Hohenheim and Father's overall superiority, and of the Xing fighters in their sense of harmony with the environment and pure combat skill.

Spoiler for Off topic in regards to Ed vs Roy:

And I actually question any chance that Edward has against Roy, let alone a Roy who's gone postal. As you saw Roy can use blasts that target specific body parts at close range. I'm pretty sure if both fighters aimed for each other's eyes via their main weapons (Ed with his blade), Ed's head would be in big trouble, since Roy doesn't need to cross any distance to inflict real damage. So short-range is already a tough fight, and long-range is just spite. Flame alchemy seems inherently stronger in terms of destructive strength than matter alchemy. Not to mention an explosion from Roy's fingers happens much faster than Ed clapping his hands, slamming them on the ground, and summoning a concrete dragon that will probably get taken apart. Contrast the many creative strategies that Ed and Al employ to destroy things with Roy snapping his fingers... again and again and again.

Although nothing here is conclusive (it's all fictional), I see Roy as having much higher showings of combat power than Ed. It would take some serious CIS or PIS for Ed to even get near Mustang.

Btw, was it just me, or was there no eyecatch in this episode? At least, I don't recall seeing one.

It was right after Greed made his appearance. But yeah easy to get so into the episode you wouldn't really notice the eyecatch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yosei

I see what you mean since I'm a big fan of fighting games. But without any PIS, I reckon some characters are categorically more dangerous than others: for example, with the exception of Pride, the specific human-homunculi union of Wrath is easily better than all the other sins. Personally, I'm convinced of Hohenheim and Father's overall superiority, and of the Xing fighters in their sense of harmony with the environment and pure combat skill.

Spoiler for Off topic in regards to Ed vs Roy:

And I actually question any chance that Edward has against Roy, let alone a Roy who's gone postal. As you saw Roy can use blasts that target specific body parts at close range. I'm pretty sure if both fighters aimed for each other's eyes via their main weapons (Ed with his blade), Ed's head would be in big trouble, since Roy doesn't need to cross any distance to inflict real damage. So short-range is already a tough fight, and long-range is just spite. Flame alchemy seems inherently stronger in terms of destructive strength than matter alchemy. Not to mention an explosion from Roy's fingers happens much faster than Ed clapping his hands, slamming them on the ground, and summoning a concrete dragon that will probably get taken apart. Contrast the many creative strategies that Ed and Al employ to destroy things with Roy snapping his fingers... again and again and again.

Although nothing here is conclusive (it's all fictional), I see Roy as having much higher showings of combat power than Ed. It would take some serious CIS or PIS for Ed to even get near Mustang.

Spoiler for Ed vs Roy:

I have to agree that while Mustang's alchemy might have limited applications, in combat it is insanely strong. Really the only chances you have against Mustang is to drench him in water or hit him before he can notice you. Whether its close range or long range it's tough to beat the speed of fingers snapping.

Interesting changes from the manga. I enjoyed seeing the anime variant. The tank fight is especially cool.

I liked the small details. Like it was cool to see the Briggs soldiers reacting to Bradley chasing the tank. Two turned to shoot at him, one turned and followed him, and one threw away his gun (but went to look at the injured--a medic?).

And Bradley...strikes me speechless. Sixty years old? I'm not sure I want to know how tough he was in his prime. That eye of his turns him from "fearsome" into "gamebreaking".

And FMA continues to have side characters do more stuff than the leads in other shonen anime. I'm worried myself about the anime running out of time but I have faith in Bones, besides, they could cut the OP or the ED a few times as well and do super short previews.

That was a very entertaining episode. The tank scene oozed with epicness, like the change.
I specially liked Fuu's entrance, complete with the Xingese Symphony, very very nice!

As for Falman:

Spoiler for He has them:

A goddamn Tank tried to flee from Wrath but he stands his ground! In a whimpy manner, but standing his ground like a man!

I also forgot how awesome Buccaner already was in the first half of the fight. Wow.

The animation in this episode was pretty stunning yet again, specially the scenes with blood flying about.

My inner fangirl squeeled in joy for Greed's entrance of course. I liked how Ling thanked Falman for taking him in before, almost forgot they knew each other.

Didn't even realize the episode was missing Ed. He is my favorite, but with so many awesome characters I really don't mind. I actually love that everyone gets a chance to shine. It's rare but I really adore all the characters in FMA.